Kamnaskires

Beautifully crafted - an appropriate housing for your outstanding collection!

Good luck with the new set-up.

Some years ago, while working on an article for KOINON, I created a thread at CCF titled “The Kindness of Ancient Numismatic Scholars”. In it I wrote: “I just thought I'd express my continuing amazement at how willingly some of the ‘biggies’ - the big names in the scholarly world of ancient numismatics - take the time to share their knowledge with us amateurs. I am engaged in a bit of research and, upon getting stuck on a few points, I reached out to Fred B. Shore (Parthian Coins and History: Ten Dragons Against Rome) and Michael Alram (well-known author of numerous articles and books on ancient Eastern series: Sassanian, Parthian, Kushan, Hephthalite, etc.). “Both provided insightful, helpful responses - Alram's reply being the first email in my In-Box this morn. In Shore's case there were several replies a few weeks back as he realized that he wished to follow up on his initial response to my inquiry. I should add that he also helped me in the past, years ago, with other coin inquiries. “Similarly, Wayne Sayles (of the Ancient Coin Collecting series, Turkoman Figural Bronze Coins, The Celator, Ancient Coin Collectors Guild, etc.) and Pieter Anne van't Haaff (Catalogue of Elymaean Coinage) have been quite kind to me in the past, spending some time at their computers to help me out. It's clear that all of these folks are seriously invested in the goal of educating us amateurs and fostering enthusiasm for our hobby. “Just never ceases to amaze me. I'm sure there must be some arrogant ancients scholars out there who wouldn't give you the time of day, but I am pleased to say that I have not encountered them. I know some of the frequent contributors to this board have occasionally mentioned their correspondence with experts from their collecting areas too - with similar reports of generosity and support from the big guns. It really is a great, extended community that we are part of.” Later in the thread, I mentioned the assistance that Brian Kritt (Seleucid Coins of Bactria, From Aï Khanoum to Samarqand: Seleucid Coins in Central Asia, New Discoveries in Bactrian Numismatics) gave me as a researched a mystery coin. I should mention also that the correspondence I had with Michael Alram several years ago, which extended over a number of weeks, included him scanning and sending me a relevant (to my research) long out-of-print article he had written. So impressive - both the article and the gesture. I've never forgotten it. My good coin buddy Joe (who some of you probably know as cody111111 at eBay or as louisvillekyshop at CCF) has told me about the assistance given him by David Hendin (Guide to Biblical Coins) and other authors a number of times in the past. With that in mind, if you'd like to give a shout-out here to the “biggies” who may have assisted you, please feel free.

Those who regularly hunt for coins of Elymais have likely encountered this laughable marketing ploy consisting of silly packaging for second century AD Elymaean drachms. The selling point is that the coin is somehow connected to the location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Never mind that there is, I believe, no definitive archaeological evidence for the actual existence of the Hanging Gardens. Never mind that Elymais was hundreds of miles east of Babylon. Never mind that the supposed “numismatists (who) now believe” that the Hanging Gardens were in Elam are unnamed. Never mind that, among the theories shared by Elymaean specialists regarding the dashes of the reverses of these types of coins, there in no mention (that I know of) about a connection to the Hanging Gardens. I forgive them all of that. However, sadly, I have to interject a dose of reality: Elam (which is where the sellers say the Hanging Gardens actually existed) came to an end with the rise of the Achaemenids almost four centuries before the kingdom of Elymais was even established – and almost seven centuries before the minting of this particular coin! Furthermore, the author of this silliness seems to think (or wants the reader to think) that the Elymaean and Elamite kingdoms were one and the same. The text inside the box includes a number of passages about ancient Elam despite the fact that the coin is from Elymais. Although the Elymaeans were likely descended from the earlier Elamites, we’re dealing with two different kingdoms and two different time periods. Thus, the coin has – at best – a very tenuous connection to Elam which, in turn, has a tenuous (or perhaps no) connection to the 6th century BC Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Which may not have existed at all. But, hey, the “riddle” ploy, with its shades of Indiana Jones solving an ancient mystery, is (I guess?) clever…

I'm with my buddy from Spain, above: The fact that the management at VCoins apparently does not see any correlation between following dealers' pledges, from the VCoins Code of Ethics, and the obvious, chronic application of phony patinas - i.e. inauthentic patinas - by several of its stores*. Or, more to the point, that it would seem they don't care. 10. I will vouch for the authenticity of items I sell... 13. I will not intentionally misrepresent items I sell... *One of whom has earned a spot on Warren Esty's fakesellers list due to the practice.

You must be referring to the New Jersey (#62), anchored on the Camden side of the Delaware. Seen here in a picture I took from the deck of the Olympia from the Philly side.

Awesome "relic medal" from the USS Olympia. Below are some pics of the vessel, from my last trip to Philly in 2019. Was the first time I'd been aboard since a class trip as a kid many, many, many years ago.

Another sad Batman: And for those who prefer Marvel:

A Kamnaskires III and Anzaze drachm to complement Shanxi’s outstanding tetradrachm from this couple.

For similar see: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7647601

A Vologases III tet depicting on its reverse Tyche (no helmet!) presenting a diadem to the king. This was a win from a Stephen Album auction, so next: A coin purchased from Stephen Album Rare Coins.

Stunning...outstanding.

Super rendition of the man-faced bull. You probably know that our own Nick wrote (well, co-wrote) the book on these issues.

I can imagine that someone interested in picking up Parthian drachms, but fearful of the associated attribution challenges, might read this thread and wonder how they can find out the Sellwood type (#) of a coin-in-hand (if it wasn't provided by the seller), prior to referencing one of the correlation charts to see if there is a more currently accepted ID. For those folks who may not know about this, there is a brilliant and free online tool, launched a few years ago, for identifying Parthian drachms in accordance with Sellwood. By answering a few simple questions about a Parthian drachm - based on simple observation of the coin's iconography - a Sellwood type is provided. Then, armed with the Sellwood attribution, the collector can consult one of the correlation charts for the current (Assar 2011) attribution. The Parthian Drachm Identifier is here: https://mrcollector.eu/parthia/

Score one for the good guys. I was notified by the auction house this morning that the lot has been withdrawn. Nice to know they agreed with the assessment and that they did the right thing.

Congrats on the pickup, Paul. Neat coin. I do see that Stephen Album has had past sales of Chinese and South Asian coins from the "Jess A. Yockers Collection".

Attributing Parthian coins can be challenging and confusing, of course. You may find the Attribution Correlation Chart developed by Chris Hopkins at Parthia.com to be helpful: https://parthia.com/parthia_corr.htm G. R. F. Assar's work over the past two decades, which was widely distributed across periodicals/journals prior to being consolidated in his essay "Iran Under the Arsakids" in the Numismatic Art of Persia: The Sunrise Collection (2011) is the most recent research. It is common, when cataloging, to list Sellwood's attribution alongside Assar's - and often Fred Shore's (from Parthian Coins & History: Ten Dragons Against Rome) as well. In many instances these three specialists agreed on attributions. But in some cases, obviously, they did not.

The Osroes I drachm, a Sellwood 80.1, listed as #1 in the group shot below, is currently listed by a major European auction house. The coin is, without question, struck from the same obverse and reverse dies used for a coin condemned by Dr. Alan Walker in the IBSCC’s Bulletin on Counterfeits, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1994/5, where it was illustrated as figure 7. It’s a well-known fake in the world of Parthian coinage, but continues to sneak into major auctions every now and then. I seriously hesitated to post this thread. However, it’s been about five days since I notified the auction house about the coin being a fake. They continue to list it, which is somewhat disheartening, and it has acquired a sixth bid within the past day. I’m not trying to be coy by not naming the firm – I’m just not comfortable “going there”. It will be easy enough for anyone who is interested to find it out. You’ve got the coin pictured below. Ample evidence was provided with the notification to the auction house: photos of other condemned coins that were produced from those exact same dies, links to the BOC issue, and even a fairly detailed explanation of the diagnostic details that tie the auctioneer's coin to the one in the BOC: the very distinctive pattern of pellets in the hair buns, the tiny extension (overshooting) of the vertical line that traverses the bottom eyelid on the obverse (more on that below), lettering of the legend, etc. For anyone reading this who may, someday, be on the lookout for an Sellwood 80.1 Osroes drachm: Watch out for that overshooting of the vertical line past the lower eyelid. Of course, you can study the concordance of all the other elements of the iconography to determine if a coin matches the fake dies, but it’s so much easier to simply check if that vertical line overshoots the lid. That extended line seems to only exist on the modern obverse die – and that die is always partnered with the modern reverse die seen below. In the group shot below – all fake, from the same dies – are (1) the current coin at auction, (2) an example from Forum’s Fake Coin Reports, (3) the coin condemned in the Bulletin on Counterfeits, (4) a coin (lot 338) removed by CNG from CNG 117 in 2021 upon my notification (unlike the current auction house, CNG did the right thing upon discovering they had a fake listed – they pulled it immediately), and (5) a coin I used to own before discovering it was a fake. (This is why I am so familiar with these dies.) I had purchased that last coin from Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio in November 2012, only to realize it was a fake three years later, in 2015. Even though Stacks would have been within their rights to deny me a refund at that point, they investigated, agreed with my assessment, accepted the return of the coin, and fully refunded me. Totally professional handling of the situation – that really impressed me. I still hold out hope that the current auction house withdraws coin #1 below. r 2012, only

What a lovely and impressive display. No doubt the collecting and the work on this presentation were labors of love. Well done! I am again reminded of Kerry Wetterstrom's "Editor's Note" from The Celator from page two of the June 2010 edition. Yours is the digital equivalent of the "cardboard coins" he encountered in Abafil cases, as he describes in his amusing story. I linked to this years ago, in a thread at that other site where a couple weeks ago so many soon-to-be Numis Forums members read "Enough Already!" and decided that, indeed, they had. Here's the link: https://community.vcoins.com/themencode-pdf-viewer-sc/?file=https://community.vcoins.com/thecelator/The-Celator-Vol.24-No.06-Jun-2010.pdf&settings=001110111&lang=en-US#page=&zoom=auto&pagemode=

This thread is overdue for a non-Roman-world usurper. The two decades of the so-called Early Kamnaskirid Dynasty in Elymais was a time of political flux, when leadership seemed to constantly change hands. At times the Seleucids ruled, while at other times Parthia controlled the area. During some periods the indigenous Kamnaskirids ruled. And, on perhaps three occasions, it seems, usurpers took control. The first usurper, Okkonapses, ruled for a short time around 140 BC before Parthia's Mithradates I took control of the region. Another usurper, Dareios, may have ruled around 127 BC - although some have speculated his rule was earlier. One of the three usurpers, Tigraios (below), was likely a local king. He conquered the Elymaean capital Susa in 138/7 BC. In doing so, he seized power from the Parthian viceroy to Elymais, Phraates II, who was the son of Parthia's King Mithradates I. An ugly coin, but it seems that none of these rarities have survived in great shape: Tigraios Usurper in Elymais, c. 138/7 - 133/2 BC AE unit 14 mm, 1.6 g Obv: Helmeted, youthful male bust facing right, pellet border Rev: Eagle standing right, wings open, legend (BAΣIΛEΩΣ on right, TIΓPAIOY on left) largely obscured and partially off-flan on this example Van't Haaff 5.5.1-1

Neat find, Paul. Patriarchal cross reverse? Reminiscent of these: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces110785.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces107591.html

A sampling of bizarre, wide-eyed busts from Elymais of the early to mid 2nd century AD. Kamnaskires-Orodes and Orodes II.

Always nice to have that kind of provenance for an artifact (the Ptah amulet). Interesting to compare the 3D faience version with a die engraver’s interpretation.

$600: https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/zurqieh/171/product/roman_near_east_late_thirdfourth_century_ad_carved_bone_fragment/1671913/Default.aspx